Sharing is Caring

A city police force leads the way in using GIS technology for better community collaboration and increased overall efficiencies

SAN DIEGO, Esri User Conference – July 11, 2019 – Esri Canada congratulates the Toronto Police Service (TPS) for receiving a 2019 Esri Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award. The winner was chosen from thousands of Esri customer organizations worldwide for their effective enterprise implementation of geographic information system (GIS) technology to deliver better services.

The Toronto Police Service developed the Public Safety Data Portal, an open data portal that increases transparency, improves the public’s understanding of policing and enhances confidence in the Service. The Portal provides unprecedented access to location-based police information, allowing residents to see where crimes and traffic collisions have occurred, and much more.

“The largest municipal police service in the country, the Toronto Police Service, challenged stereotypes and shared their crime data, and the response, collaboration and engagement from the public has been amazing, even beyond Toronto,” said Alex Miller, president of Esri Canada.

Police services across Canada, the U.S. and Europe, academic institutions, the media and the public, access the portal and often communicate and collaborate with the Service about issues in their communities. The Service benefits from this input and because people can quickly find the answers they need online, it has also saved the Service a lot of staff time.

The Service knew modernizing would increase efficiencies, so they adopted an open government plan that proposed changing fundamental expectations, improving service delivery, accountability, collaboration, openness and transparency about public safety matters in Toronto. And that led to the Public Safety Data Portal.

“The Public Safety Data Portal provides meaningful information for stakeholders from the city of Toronto and beyond. It has been a key piece in the Toronto Police Service modernization and increases transparency allowing the public to learn more about the public safety challenges facing all of our communities,” said Ian Williams, Manager, Analytics & Innovation at Toronto Police Service.

The Public Safety Data Portal was created using ArcGIS Open Data, which is included in Esri’s cloud-based mapping service, ArcGIS Online. It provides a web page template to help users set up public-facing web pages and websites within minutes, no coding required. It allows users to easily incorporate their organization’s logo and styles to make it consistent with their existing website.

The TPS is the police agency servicing the biggest city in Canada, Toronto (population 2.97 million). Established in 1834, it was the first municipal police service created in North America and is one of the oldest police services in the English-speaking world. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada. More information can be found at torontopolice.on.ca.

About Esri Canada

Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government and education to make informed and timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions enable organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Esri Canada’s products and services help advance successful digital transformation. The company serves 12,000 organizations from 16 offices across Canada and is based in Toronto. In 2019, Esri Canada achieved Platinum Club status with the Canada's Best Managed Companies program by retaining its Best Managed designation for seven consecutive years or more and in 2016 was named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.